Top 10 destinations to watch in 2016

Zanzibar, Tanzania

Zanzibar

Tanzania

It's castaway-fantasy stuff,
Zanzibar. Tourism has taken a bit of a knock in recent
years; but the allure of this archipelago endures, thanks to its
phenomenal beaches: powder-white coral sand and the bluest sea.
Lately it has been busy reinventing itself as a fly-and-flop island
holiday destination, a kind of 'new Mauritius', with several new
high-end barefoot-in-the-powdery-white-sand chic hotels being built
where the luxury is so laid-on, the beachy-blue view so dreamy,
that many find no reason to leave.

Per Aquum has taken over the former Essque Zalu and, as with its
Maldives outpost, transformed it into beachfront luxury, suites and
villas and restaurants right on the sands of Zanzibar's northern
coast. A Park Hyatt set up home in a former mansion in Stone Town.
The honeymoony private island AndBeyond Mnemba Island has refurbished its 10
bandas - palm-thatched suites flanked by tropical greenery and open
to the sea breeze. And there's more to come in 2016 and 2017:
contributing writer Lisa Grainger has tipped us off about White
Sand Luxury Villas' new beachside rooms, where the waves roll in;
and there's a brand new hotel in the offing, the Zuri Zanzibar.